Motion to approve the Library Board meeting minutes of October 17, 2013, accept the minutes of the Policies & Personnel Committee meeting of October 17, 2013 and accept the minutes of the Fundraising Committee meetings of October 24 and November 7, 2013 by Nichols and seconded by Crawmer. Motion carried unanimously.

Director’s Report/Information Items1. October Statistics. Director Lenz reported that circulation of adult materials was nearly the same as this time last year. Lending of children’s items was down 3.1%. Total circulation, including digital materials, was up 0.4%. During October, Teen Librarian Vanessa Taylir gave a book talk and library tour to 830 students from Maplewood Middle School. Included were special needs students who had been integrated into regular education classrooms. Library website visits were up 121.4% for the month. Wireless connections continue to increase significantly. Volunteer hours vary from month to month based on the number of projects available.

3. Staff Reports. Library Clerk Marina Nelessen’s resignation presented us with an opportunity to allocate her hours to current employees. Two clerk positions were changed to full-time and an aide position was increased from 10 to 14 hours per week. Aides who are assigned to work on Sundays will begin their shift 15 minutes earlier to help cover the workload. Eisen noted that Appleton Public Library anticipates extending their Sunday hours. He speculated that it may be beneficial for our library to consider extending or adjusting our Sunday hours.Kathy Beson, Head of Children’s Services, reported on the success of the new Cat in the Hat Fall Reading Program; 150 children enrolled. A grant from First Book National Book Bank was awarded to the Children’s Department. Our library received 854 free books that will be given away during children’s programs. We were required to pay shipping charges.Joe Bongers, Head of Adult Services, reported that he had applied for a federal grant which would allow us to digitalize oral histories of some local residents which we currently have on cassette tapes. This is a project his staff will be working on jointly with staff from Neenah Public Library.

4. Fundraising Committee. Crawmer reported that the committee is taking the following three-tiered approach to library fundraising: 1) continue to work on plans for the Million Pennies fundraiser, 2) finalize plans to sell Stevi B’s Pizza coupons, and 3) firm up plans for a Family Night at Luigi’s Pizza, with 10% of the receipts returned to the library.

5. Polices & Personnel Committee Report. Wicihowski reported that she would be distributing copies of the director’s evaluation form, along with the director’s current job description, to board members. She asked that the completed forms be returned to her no later than December 5th. Committee members also planned to meet with supervisors Cate Brandt, Kathy Beson and Joe Bongers for their input. The committee will meet with the director prior to the December board meeting to finalize a list of goals for her for 2014.

7. Advocacy Plan. Some advocacy recommendations from Mark Arend, WLS assistant director, included attending Library Legislative Day, writing letters to the editor of our local newspaper, talking to friends about our library, volunteering for library projects, letting our aldermen and county supervisors know how important the library is, maintaining a presence in the community at the farmer’s market and local festivals, and informing newly elected officials about the important role our library plays in our community.

Discussion/Action Items8. Budget Status. 83.3% of the year has passed and the library’s budget is 79% spent. Director Lenz provided a list of projects that may be scheduled before year-end. Due to a recent power surge, there was damage to one of the library’s cooling tower frequency drives. Funds from the 2013 budget will be used to cover all or a portion of the cost of replacement. Some damage to the roof occurred when that drive was replaced. An insurance claim may be filed.

9. 2014 budget news. The Common Council voted to reduce the amount budgeted for vehicle/equipment rental across the board for all city departments in 2014, which reduced the library’s 2014 slightly. Other than that, the budget approved at last month’s board meeting is the same as that presented by the mayor to the council and later approved by the council.

10. Trustee Essentials: Chapter Fourteen. Director Lenz summarized Chapter 14 The Library Board and the Open Meetings Law. The board will resume reviewing chapters of the Trustee Essential at their January 2014 meeting.

AdjournmentMotion to adjourn the meeting at 4:50 p.m. by Nichols and seconded by Golz. Motion carried unanimously.